I'm surprised to find there's not more demand for "back to back" travel wifi routers, e.g. so you can connect once to a hotel wifi and immediately all devices are connected via the router's own wifi. This is useful not just for working around device limits but also for simplicity of setup when you have kids.
Building a freedom-friendly WiFi pocket-router (2020)
31–40 of 68 posts
Re: Building a freedom-friendly WiFi pocket-router (2020)
#32Pi knockoffs offer a unique form of supply chain and technical risks
Well, for some projects supply chain risks are better than no supply at all, so there's that.
Re: Building a freedom-friendly WiFi pocket-router (2020)
#33I was hoping to this would be an lte-wifi router. Unfortunately it isn't. I wish we had open source modern lte hardware, but it's not just that we haven't got any open source stuff. There is barely any commercial stuff either. Qualcomm seems the only company I'm able to find that makes lte cat 20 hardware, let alone cat 24. I wonder why. Wouldn't open source hardware projects like limesdr have the resources necessary…
> I wish we had open source modern lte hardware
We don't need that; if our data is encrypted the modem hardware sees only noise passing through. Yes, it can know who we are speaking with or which address we're connecting to, but that information would be already known by the carriers anyway and shared with whoever has the power to tell them to. All we need is Free and Open Source Software and Hardware outside of the modem, so that our data can't be intercepted before it is being encrypted or after it is being decrypted - think about a malicious app intercepting where you tap the screen so that it can read all your passwords even before they're fed into some app or a browser code. Now think what would happen if this malicious code was built into the screen driver itself, or the storage driver for data that comes encrypted but is being decrypted to be read and stored by the user. We badly need open source everywhere, but asking for it in radio hardware is a lost cause; carriers will never open up their devices, and for a very good reason.
Re: Building a freedom-friendly WiFi pocket-router (2020)
#34This is awesome. I had always had a travel/pocket wi-fi router since a long-long time. Started from the likes of D-Link, TP-Link, etc and now my next target is to check out one from GL•iNet[1]. They are flashable with OpenWRT. Their Beryl AX[2] looks spicy. I find the benefit of a router with you when traveling are; - More secure (you can set it up the way you want). - Your device(s) do not need to be configured to w…
I'm a big fan of https://www.supernetworks.org for the flexibility it gives. The security focus is a bonus as well.
Re: Building a freedom-friendly WiFi pocket-router (2020)
#35I'm surprised to find there's not more demand for "back to back" travel wifi routers, e.g. so you can connect once to a hotel wifi and immediately all devices are connected via the router's own wifi. This is useful not just for working around device limits but also for simplicity of setup when you have kids.
Unfortunately the US will always have more options than the EU
Re: Building a freedom-friendly WiFi pocket-router (2020)
#36This is awesome. I had always had a travel/pocket wi-fi router since a long-long time. Started from the likes of D-Link, TP-Link, etc and now my next target is to check out one from GL•iNet[1]. They are flashable with OpenWRT. Their Beryl AX[2] looks spicy. I find the benefit of a router with you when traveling are; - More secure (you can set it up the way you want). - Your device(s) do not need to be configured to w…
Do they use a different fork/package for AdGuard home? I'm asking this because the smaller models from them are limited to 32MB flash and 128/256MB RAM, which is way too less for typical AdGuard Home usage. Personally I'm using some older Linksys WRT 1900AC/3200ACM models for my malware homelab and for the 1900AC the AdGuard daemon is constantly OOM once a few blocklists are selected. Does anybody maybe know whether…
This isn't an issue with needing a fork that uses less memory. You're loading hundreds of thousands, if not millions of urls into memory so they can be compared to every single dns request happening. Text, even compressed, requires a certain amount of bytes to store, and there is no way to use less memory beyond that point, it's literally, physically impossible. Are there memory gains in adguard? Probably. But I doubt enough to magically make your 128MB of memory defy physics and hold more than 128MB of bytes. Doesn't matter what those bytes are, or how efficiently you made them, that physical rock can only ever handle 128MB of those bytes
Re: Building a freedom-friendly WiFi pocket-router (2020)
#37I was hoping to this would be an lte-wifi router. Unfortunately it isn't. I wish we had open source modern lte hardware, but it's not just that we haven't got any open source stuff. There is barely any commercial stuff either. Qualcomm seems the only company I'm able to find that makes lte cat 20 hardware, let alone cat 24. I wonder why. Wouldn't open source hardware projects like limesdr have the resources necessary…
> I wish we had open source modern lte hardware We don't need that; if our data is encrypted the modem hardware sees only noise passing through. Yes, it can know who we are speaking with or which address we're connecting to, but that information would be already known by the carriers anyway and shared with whoever has the power to tell them to. All we need is Free and Open Source Software and Hardware outside of the…
Well, there is this issue around the baseband modem having access to the hardware, at least in phones. If i remember correctly, they can install software that way? However, if we are using a USB modem, i wonder if we are already more secure as it has to use the usb protocols to communicate at hw level?
Re: Building a freedom-friendly WiFi pocket-router (2020)
#38I was hoping to this would be an lte-wifi router. Unfortunately it isn't. I wish we had open source modern lte hardware, but it's not just that we haven't got any open source stuff. There is barely any commercial stuff either. Qualcomm seems the only company I'm able to find that makes lte cat 20 hardware, let alone cat 24. I wonder why. Wouldn't open source hardware projects like limesdr have the resources necessary…
To be able to connect to LTE networks you, in most regions, need your hardware AND firmware to be approved by your local radio communications authority (e.g. FCC).
Open source baseband firmware and hardware projects exist but, even if a LTE baseband firmware and hardware were to be developed, you wouldn't be able to use it outside of a Faraday cage unless you spend lots of money getting it certified.
Re: Building a freedom-friendly WiFi pocket-router (2020)
#39I was hoping to this would be an lte-wifi router. Unfortunately it isn't. I wish we had open source modern lte hardware, but it's not just that we haven't got any open source stuff. There is barely any commercial stuff either. Qualcomm seems the only company I'm able to find that makes lte cat 20 hardware, let alone cat 24. I wonder why. Wouldn't open source hardware projects like limesdr have the resources necessary…
> Qualcomm seems the only company I'm able to find that makes lte cat 20 hardware, let alone cat 24. I wonder why.
Because Qualcomm is the main supplier of modems for nearly all devices in US, and nearly all flagship devices and LTE-routers globally.
It's nearly impossible to compete with Qualcomm on pure modem-chipset pricing, because:
1) The sheer volume of chipsets they produce
2) The fact that their modem firmware of those few-dollar component is largely validated (and paid for) by Smartphone device manufacturers and carriers when they launch their 800+ USD Premium Smartphones with the same modem.
3) Qualcomm's iron grip of patents and manufacturer contracting practice
Few have tried over the years, including juggernauts like Huawei, Samsung, LG. All failed.
Re: Building a freedom-friendly WiFi pocket-router (2020)
#40I was hoping to this would be an lte-wifi router. Unfortunately it isn't. I wish we had open source modern lte hardware, but it's not just that we haven't got any open source stuff. There is barely any commercial stuff either. Qualcomm seems the only company I'm able to find that makes lte cat 20 hardware, let alone cat 24. I wonder why. Wouldn't open source hardware projects like limesdr have the resources necessary…
> Qualcomm seems the only company I'm able to find that makes lte cat 20 hardware, let alone cat 24. I wonder why. Because Qualcomm is the main supplier of modems for nearly all devices in US, and nearly all flagship devices and LTE-routers globally. It's nearly impossible to compete with Qualcomm on pure modem-chipset pricing, because: 1) The sheer volume of chipsets they produce 2) The fact that their modem firmwar…
> Few have tried over the years, including juggernauts like Huawei, Samsung, LG. All failed.
Add on top Apple.
The only ones who did succeed are Mediatek with their bottom-of-the-barrel stuff... wonder how that is possible.